Search research articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Contextual variability and serial position effects in free recall.

M W Howard¹, M J Kahana

¹Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition

|August 10, 1999

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Ramping Dynamics in the Frontal Cortex Unfold Over Multiple Timescales During Motor Planning.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2024

Same author

Multitrial free recall for evaluating memory.

Neuropsychology·2023

Same author

Efficacy of detergent-based cleaning and wiping against SARS-CoV-2 on high-touch surfaces.

Letters in applied microbiology·2023

Same author

Evaluation of surface disinfection methods to inactivate the beta coronavirus Murine Hepatitis Virus.

Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene·2022

Same author

EEG biomarkers of free recall.

NeuroImage·2021

Same author

Decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 contaminated N95 filtering facepiece respirators using artificial sun lamps.

Journal of applied microbiology·2021

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Recalled words often come from nearby positions, a lag recency effect. A single-store memory model explains this and other recency effects by context cues, challenging multi-store models.

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Human Memory

Background:

In free recall, successively recalled words typically originate from adjacent serial positions, a phenomenon known as the lag recency effect.
This effect was previously modeled using variants of the search of associative memory (SAM) model, a two-store memory framework.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the persistence of the lag recency effect across different recall conditions, including immediate, delayed, and continuous distractor free recall.
To evaluate the explanatory power of single-store versus two-store memory models in accounting for both end-of-list and lag recency effects.

Main Methods:

Conducted two experiments involving participants performing free recall tasks under immediate, delayed, and continuous distractor conditions.
Minimized rehearsal during recall tasks to isolate memory retrieval processes.

Related Experiment Videos

Utilized analytic simulations to test theoretical memory models against experimental data.

Main Results:

The lag recency effect was consistently observed across all tested recall conditions (immediate, delayed, and continuous distractor free recall).
Two-store models like SAM adequately explain end-of-list recency but fail to account for the long-term recency effect and the lag recency effect under distractor conditions.
A single-store model, where retrieved context cues subsequent recalls, successfully explains both end-of-list and lag recency effects across all distractor conditions.

Conclusions:

The lag recency effect is a robust phenomenon present even under significant distractor conditions.
A single-store memory model provides a more comprehensive explanation for recency effects in free recall compared to traditional two-store models.
Contextual retrieval, acting as a cue for subsequent recalls, is a critical mechanism underlying memory organization and retrieval.